It's been about exactly two years since I last visited Portland. It was in the spring, my friend had just had her first baby and I wanted to see if I could help a little. I walked around the city taking pictures of blossoms, and sidewalk graffiti. I sat in teahouses and coffee shops drinking strange teas and waiting for my sister to get off work.

There's an intoxication in cities for us country-dwellers. The anonymity, the variety, all the man-made things, and all the people...it can be thrilling and overwhelming at the same time.

That's part of why I like Portland, it's about city enough for me; not too big, not too small, and in spite of all the gentrification and soaring prices, still unpredictable, and rough around the edges.

It's not perfect, but it is kind of a perfect city. And it's in bloom. I can't wait to be there.

Fireweed & Nettle is a hand-crafted, small batch apothecary, based on the practices of ancestral folk herbalism, self-care, plant-lore, magic, wild medicine, restorative organic gardening, and the medicine of place and spirit.

We wildcraft and grow all of our plant materials, except for a few lovely trades, and only use the best mediums for all of our medicine craft. These medicines are made with the seasons, the Moons, instincts, and ritual practices, in sustainable small batches with high quality mediums and ingredients. Once they sell out they may never appear in the same exact form again.